Some antennas for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves are configured as thin film antennas. A thin film antenna includes a thin substrate material, (for example, plastic), which bonds with and supports a thin layer of metallization (for example, metalized copper). Thin film antennas may be attached to surfaces without significantly altering the profile of the surface. Additionally, thin film antennas may be relatively flexible and, for this reason, may be easily attached to curved or contoured surfaces in a conformal manner. Furthermore, depending on the amount of metallization, thin film antennas may also be transparent and, for this reason, may be more esthetically pleasing than traditional antennas.
Thin film antennas, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,961, may include a coplanar waveguide to guide the electromagnetic waves to and from the thin film antenna. Coplanar waveguides typically are contiguous with the thin film antenna and are constructed of the same materials.
Currently, many applications that utilize conventional antennas also utilize waveguides, such as a coaxial cable, to transmit electromagnetic waves between the conventional antenna and a receiver. Coaxial cables are typically mechanically connected or soldered to the leads extending from a conventional antenna. Attaching a coaxial cable directly to the coplanar waveguide of a thin film antenna in this manner, however, may be impracticable. This is because the substrate of the coplanar waveguide may not be structurally robust enough to support a mechanical fastener and the application of molten solder may melt or otherwise damage the coplanar waveguide.
Accordingly, it is desirable to connect a conventional waveguide, such as a coaxial cable, to a coplanar waveguide in a manner that provides a robust attachment and that does not significantly alter the coplanar waveguide. Furthermore, it is desirable that this connection have low insertion loss over the entire bandwidth of the antenna, and that the fabrication tolerances be achievable. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.